As of Friday, October 8, 2021, Montana reports 158,680 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 1,315 new cases of coronavirus infection reported since yesterday: 205 new cases in Yellowstone County, 178 new cases in Missoula County, 177 new cases in Flathead County, 139 new cases in Cascade County, 110 new cases in Gallatin County, and more new cases in 39 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 12,539. Every one of Montana’s 56 counties reports active cases. Currently, 463 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. 2,079 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nine more people’s deaths have been reported in the last day. Nationwide, more than 710,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 44,200,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

Donald Trump is no longer one of Forbes’ 400 richest people in America, an exclusive group he has been a part of for more than two decades. Trump’s history of lying about his net worth was bolstered by his previous appearance on Forbes’ list.

A groundwater plume containing toxic chemicals commonly used in commercial dry cleaning is lurking underneath Butte High School. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality first detected the solvent plume in 2009. The Environmental Protection Agency contracted a preliminary investigation of the site more than a decade later. The report was completed this past summer, and shared with Butte-Silver Bow officials this week.

A judge has sentenced an Illinois woman to four days in jail for not moving away while a grizzly bear with two cubs came dangerously close and bluff-charged her in Yellowstone National Park. Samantha R. Dehring, 25, of Carol Stream, Illinois, pleaded guilty Wednesday to willfully remaining, approaching and photographing wildlife within 100 yards.